Payments

With analysts citing pressure from fintechs, CEO Alex Chriss says artificial intelligence is expanding the company's payment and marketing tools as PayPal battles Stripe, Block and other rivals.

As Elon Musk and his associates gain access to internal computers, Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden slammed the move and said it poses a national security risk. Musk said the Treasury system isn't adequately fighting fraud and is also attempting to shut down USAID.

An IT problem at the bank left thousands of customers locked out of their accounts for several days.

The partnership with Visa Direct sets X Money up with infrastructure to be a global payments powerhouse, but getting consumers to actually use it will be an even bigger challenge.

The cryptocurrency exchange made the move to follow the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, which tightens rules for digital assets in the European Union.

The card network will provide payments support for the social network's financial app, potentially contributing to its ability to scale.

Money remittance provider Wise said it "strongly disagrees" with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's characterization that it advertised inaccurate fees and did not properly disclose exchange rates.

The credit card issuer's earnings missed Wall Street estimates, but it reported improvement in sales, delinquencies and charge-offs. Management said unclear political direction and cloudy monetary policy could threaten an already conservative outlook for 2025.

CEO Michael Miebach says the card network's business in areas such as debit cards will enable it to compete if the mega merger results in the loss of Capital One's debit business.

The Czech Republic's central bank plans to shift billions of reserves to bitcoin. Plus Australia and the Netherlands crack down on BNPL, and other news from the world of payments.

Synchrony Financial's fourth-quarter earnings results missed analysts' forecasts and investors pummeled the stock due to a jump in charge-offs.

Circle and other payment executives say Trump's stated support for digital assets will remove hurdles that have held back support from merchants and consumers.

Biometric payment terminals were on full display at the National Retail Federation's Big Show in New York. American Banker's Joey Pizzolato tried terminals from Ingenico and JPMorgan Payments. What he found might surprise you.

Christopher Mufarrige is named acting director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection; TD Bank promotes Andrew Stewart, Nadir Johnes and Jo Jagadish; PayPal's John Kim is leaving the company; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

Steve Squeri told analysts his firm is prepared to compete with small-business technology providers like Ramp and Brex. He also weighed in on the potential payments behemoth that would result from Capital One's purchase of Discover.

The technology vendor is going outside the company to hire PNC vet Michael Lyons to replace Trump administration-bound Frank Bisignano, leaving the Pittsburgh-bank without its heir apparent for the top role.

The auto lender is selling its credit card business and halting new mortgage loans, abandoning its once-broader ambitions. Ally CEO touted the move as "the power of focus."

The e-commerce giant has added payment and credit products, though it faces heavy competition from banks and other tech firms. Also, Stripe's layoffs and other news from the world of payments.

The bank is among traditional financial institutions attempting to counter the gains rivals have made in buy now/pay later.

CEO Richard Fairbank told analysts executives have their "microscopes" out for any signs of trouble, but consumers remain "in a great place."